Understanding the origin and distribution of volatile elements in the solar system is a major goal of planetology. However, these elements and especially noble gases are challenging to detect and measure. As a member of the RRP-MDT, I will participate in proposing a viable plan to characterize volatile elements in the pristine Ryugu samples.

https://aviceg.wordpress.com

Working with meteorites, returned samples from asteroids, comets and the moon, I am interested in the volatile compositions of the bodies, components and reservoirs of the solar system. Our research contributes to a better understanding of the processes that modified these initial reservoirs. Studying Ryugu and the solar system initial composition excluding effects of sample heterogeneity within the RRP-MDT will be of central importance.

https://ethz.ch/en.html

https://isotope.ethz.ch/research/noble-gas-cosmo-geochemistry.html

I have worked on the cosmic abundances of several elements, notably the rare earth elements (REEs), uranium, and thorium. I showed that contrary to commonly held beliefs, refractory lithophile elements are not in similar proportions in all meteoritic materials, as most carbonaceous chondrites, including CI, display positive Tm anomalies relative to neighbor REEs, likely reflecting the presence of refractory material with group II REE pattern. I have also used cosmic abundances in many of my papers, especially those tied to radioactive decay systems such as 176Lu-176Hf and 87Rb-87Sr. I have studied quantitatively the nugget effect on trace element ratio and concentration estimates in meteorites.

https://www.originslab.net/

I am the Sample Organics Analysis Working Group lead for the OSIRIS-REx mission and helped develop the methods and coordinated analysis plan for a large powdered sample of Bennu aggregate material. I am looking forward to bringing lessons learned from my experiences to support the science objectives and plans for homogenization of a sample of Ryugu for Hayabusa2.

https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/sci/bio/daniel.p.glavin

My research aims to understand the origins of the Solar System through the laboratory analysis of meteorites and samples returned from planetary bodies by space missions. In particular, I’m interested in how geological processes such as aqueous alteration and thermal metamorphism modified the mineralogy and chemistry of asteroids. As we continue to explore the Solar System and investigate protoplanetary disks around other stars, the Ryugu reference material will provide an important common benchmark for interpreting geophysical and geochemical datasets, facilitating new breakthroughs in our understanding of how planets form and evolve.

https://habitableworlds.weebly.com/

I am a cosmochemist interested in the early solar system and formation of the planets. The RRP provides a unique opportunity to establish a benchmark for the composition of the solar system, which will be key for future studies of solar system materials.

https://www.mps.mpg.de/planetary-science

Much of my research in astronomy, cosmochemistry and planetary sciences focuses on experimental and theoretical studies of abundances of the chemical elements. The samples returned from asteroid Ryugu resemble those of CI-chondrites, which are traditionally taken as representative for the elemental composition of the condensable portion of the elements in the solar system. The Ryugu samples are the first pristine, terrestrially unaltered samples that are available to obtain refined solar system compositions of the elements.

https://sites.wustl.edu/planetarychemistrylaboratory/

I am interested in the formation of the Solar System and in the origin and evolution of terrestrial planets. I am excited to be part of the RRP as we will characterized the chemical and isotopic composition of the Solar System. This project will have a major impact on our understanding of the formation of the solids of the solar system and the dynamics of planet formation.

https://www.ipgp.fr/en/directory/moynier/

The average composition of the solar system, as it was originally present in the dust of protoplanetary disk from which the terrestrial planets formed, is one of the key references needed for geochemical models to understand the formation and composition of rocky bodies in the solar system. Only the rare CI chondrites have retained this initial chemical composition and can therefore serve as a baseline. With the similarity of Ryugu samples to CI chondrites, there is now the outstanding opportunity to refine this key reference for elemental and isotopic abundances. Ryugu samples are outstanding because this material is unaffected by the travel through the terrestrial atmosphere and terrestrial weathering. Hence, it is possible to obtain the original composition of the solar system without added terrestrial complications.

https://eaps.ethz.ch/en/people/profile.maria-schoenbaechler.html

I am interested in the chemical evolution and organic astrochemistry of Ryugu. The freshest- and primordial- “reference standard” have provided us valuable opportunity for the quest into “natural laboratory of molecular evolution”. The Ryugu samples represent an important milestone to investigate water, organics, and mineral interactions that are constrained only by physical-chemical factors with time integration. Furthermore, I expect that a comparative study of the two carbonaceous asteroids (i.e., Ryugu and Bennu) has important implications for the principles of organic chemical evolution on their histories. We all look forward to becoming international witnesses to a refined Solar System science on the RRP.

https://global.jaxa.jp/activity/pr/jaxas/no083/02.html

https://cosmos.isas.jaxa.jp/ryugu-bennu-ask-us-your-questions/

I am currently a member of the Sample Analysis Team for NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission, leading investigations into moderately volatile isotopes (e.g., K, Cu, Zn, and Rb) and their implications for asteroid Bennu's origin and aqueous alteration history. I have been a member of the Preliminary Examination Team for the Apollo Next Generation Sample Analysis Program (ANGSA) and a member of the NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return (MSR) Sample Receiving Project Measurement Definition Team (SRP-MDT), where we define the characterization, measurements, and instrumentation required at the Mars Sample Receiving Facility (SRF). My laboratory at Washington University in St. Louis is equipped with Quadrupole and Multi-Collector Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometers (Q-ICP-MS and MC-ICP-MS), and we routinely analyze the bulk elemental and isotope compositions of Martian meteorites, lunar samples, and primitive meteorites, including CI chondrites and Bennu samples. With my extensive experience in handling and analyzing pristine extraterrestrial samples, I believe I can contribute to defining the scientific goals and objectives of the RRP-MDT, as well as recommending analytical protocols that meet the project requirements.

https://eeps.wustl.edu/people/kun-wang

All the six sub-teams in the Hayabusa 2 initial analysis have reached a consensus that Ryugu samples are chemically and isotopically similar to carbonaceous CI chondrites. This means that most of the analytical techniques in isotope, mineralogy, volatiles and organic chemistry have successfully provided the representative compositions of the asteroid Ryugu, at a certain level. On the other hand, it is also true that we often experienced inconsistency in data within and across teams. The inconsistency may be not only due to sample heterogeneity but also due to physical characteristics of the individual analytical instruments, or analytical conditions. In order to solve this issue, it is important to determine the representative compositions of significant sample amounts of Ryugu through the unified analytical protocols. There will be an advantage that a large amount of the Ryugu samples allows application of some techniques which we could not use during the initial analysis because of the limited sample amounts. The RRP-MDT will play a role to connect the observations (geology and morphology) and the initial sample analysis (nano-scale chemical heterogeneity) for completion of the multi-scale asteroid Ryugu science. Furthermore, the representative compositions of Ryugu will be reliable data for comparison with those of the asteroid Bennu and the Phobos samples in future. I expect that the project will improve the whole concept of the initial analysis in future sample return missions.

I was involved in the chemical analysis of the Ryugu samples as the deputy leader of the Initial Analysis Chemistry Team of Hayabusa2 project. In the initial analysis, we performed the analyses of elemental abundances and isotopic compositions of bulk Ryugu samples, and found that Ryugu is chemically and isotopically similar to CI chondrites. Since then, I have been strongly motivated to obtain the elemental abundances and isotopic compositions representative of the entire Ryugu samples acquired by the Hayabusa2 mission, in order to better understand the chemical and isotopic compositions of the solar system. The RRP is an excellent opportunity to make this measurement to happen. The data obtained throughout the consortium’s activities will be a new benchmark for determining the chemical and isotopic composition of the solar system, which should be used to complement the scientific objectives of the Hayabusa2 mission. I am very happy to participate in the RRP-MDT and to contribute my previous experience in Ryugu analysis.

I'm thrilled to join the RRP-MDT, providing the first-ever reference of the solar system abundances based on the asteroid returned sample of Ryugu. As a program executive, I will work with the world's best cosmochemists of the MDT members to produce the MDT report.

https://planetb.sci.isas.jaxa.jp/aqua/

I am very much looking forward to working with the team to create the best measurement definition for the Ryugu Reference Project.

https://shogo-tachibana.webnode.com